385— Optimizing Nitrogen Concentrations to Maximize Lipid Yields for Biodiesel Production

Select subspecies of microalgae are considered to be the most promising candidates for third generation renewable resources of biodiesel. Algae not only ingest excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere, they also convert it into energy-dense lipids which can be harvested, and then transformed into biodiesel. However, before the fuel industry can adopt algae farming as a realistic alternative to fossil fuels, the process of harvesting algal lipids must be optimized further. Our research aims to make algal lipid extraction more realistic by determining the ideal growing conditions of the algae species Chlorella Vulgaris. Our research this semester focused on two objectives: The first objective was to generate a standard plot which relates Absorbances of algae cultures to their cell densities. A standard plot would then replace cell-counting and hemocytometer usage, saving us many hours per semester. The second objective was to determine the highest algae growth rates between three groups: a) incubation with semi-daily agitation, b) fume hood with semi-daily agitation, and c) fume hood with constant agitation. Our resulting standard plot shows a direct linear relationship between absorbance and cell density with a R squared value of 0.8629. Group c had the slowest growth rate, while groups a and b had similar growth rates which were nearly double that of group c. Our data suggests that constant agitation is not an ideal condition for algal growth

084— Optimizing Conditions to Maximize Algae Growth for Biodiesel Production

Select subspecies of microalgae are considered to be the most promising candidates for third generation renewable resources of biodiesel. Algae not only ingest excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere, they also convert it into energy-dense lipids which can be harvested, and then transformed into biodiesel. However, before the fuel industry can adopt algae farming as a realistic alternative to fossil fuels, the process of harvesting algal lipids must be optimized further. Our research aims to make algal lipid extraction more realistic by determining the ideal growing conditions of the algae species Chlorella Vulgaris. Our research this semester focused on two objectives: The first objective was to generate a standard plot which relates Absorbances of algae cultures to their cell densities. A standard plot would then replace cell-counting and hemocytometer usage, saving us many hours per semester. The second objective was to determine the highest algae growth rates between three groups: a) incubation with semi-daily agitation, b) fume hood with semi-daily agitation, and c) fume hood with constant agitation. Our resulting standard plot shows a direct linear relationship between absorbance and cell density with a R squared value of 0.8629. Group c had the slowest growth rate, while groups a and b had similar growth rates which were nearly double that of group c. Our data suggests that constant agitation is not an ideal condition for algal growth

Early Termination versus Standard Regimen Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Intracranial Aneurysm Patients Treated with Pipeline Embolization Device Flex with Shield Technology: Preliminary Experience of 3 United States Centers

BACKGROUND: Pipeline Flex Embolization Device with Shield Technology (PED-Shield) is a third-generation flow diverter with reduced thromboembolic potential. However, safety profile and Dual AntiPlatelet Therapy (DAPT) recommendations with PED-Shield is not well-established. We aim to assess the safety and complication profile with early termination of DAPT with use of PED-Shield. METHODS: Databases of 3 high-volume cerebrovascular centers were retrospectively reviewed. We identified patients with unruptured and ruptured intracranial aneurysms treated with PED-Shield. Patient demographics, aneurysm characteristics, complications and angiographic outcomes were extracted. All patients that had both early termination of DAPT, defined as \u3c180-days, as well as standard duration were included. RESULTS: 37 patients, totaling 37 aneurysms, had early termination of DAPT while 24 patients with 24 aneurysms received standard duration (\u3e180-days) of DAPT. There was no difference in pre-procedural DAPT regimens between the groups (P=0.503).Following DAPT termination, one major thromboembolic complication was observed in the early termination group while no major or minor thromboembolic or hemorrhagic complication was noted in the standard duration group. Time of angiographic follow-up was not statistically different (P=0.063) between the early termination (343 days, IQR 114-371) and the standard duration (175 days, IQR 111-224.5) groups. There were no statistically significant differences in complete aneurysm occlusion (p=0.857), residual neck (p=0.582) and aneurysm remnant (p=0.352) rates between the groups on angiography. CONCLUSIONS: Early termination of DAPT proves safe after PED-Shield treatment of intracranial aneurysms with comparable complete occlusion rates